Authentic Samarkand Cooking Class with Market Tour & Transfers

The journey, in full

Samarkand Cooking Class Description: Authentic home cooking class in Samarkand, combining a local market visit, hands-on Uzbek cooking class, and an authentic home-cooked meal. Your experience begins with a hotel pickup in Samarkand by Shodiyor, who will drive you to a small neighborhood market near the Samarkand railway station. This local market is where residents shop for fresh, seasonal fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products. The bright colors of the produce create a visual feast and offer the perfect introduction to Uzbek ingredients and everyday local life. Shodiyor will introduce you to his favorite vendors, where you will purchase a few ingredients for your Samarkand cooking class. After the market visit, you will drive together to Shodiyor’s family home in the picturesque village of Eshim Oksok, located about 15 kilometers from Samarkand. At his simple and welcoming home, meet Barchinoy, his sister and your host for this home cooking experience in Samarkand. Barchinoy has been cooking traditional Uzbek dishes since childhood and is fluent in French and Russian. During this 1.5-hour Uzbek cooking class in Samarkand, you will learn how to prepare plov, the country’s iconic one-pot rice and lamb dish, along with a fresh salad. Alternatively, you may choose to bake traditional Uzbek bread in a tandir, a clay outdoor oven. Begin by chopping the meat and carrots for your plov or kneading the dough for your bread at the dining table, before joining Barchinoy in the outdoor kitchen to cook over a traditional wood-fired stove. After cooking, you will sit the traditional way, on the floor, and enjoy the meal you helped prepare, eating by hand as locals do, for a truly immersive cultural experience. A wonderful way to witness the way of life of the Uzbek people and experience their hospitality. For your Samarkand cooking class, If you prefer not to cook plov or bread, you may choose from other traditional Uzbek dishes, including laghman (pulled noodles with meat and vegetables), kazan kebab (fried meat and potatoes), dolma (stuffed grape leaves), gilmindi (Uzbek pancakes), or manti (steamed dumplings). Please inform Shodiyor in advance if you would like to prepare any of these dishes instead of plov.